Bookholder



Jan. 15, 1957 s. mess ETAL BOOKHOLDER Filed Oct; 18, 1955 INVENTORJ 9578 f m I/ Johnson United States PatentO 2,777,246 BOOKHOLDER Louise Shields Diggs and William V. Johnson, Washington, D. C.

Application October 18, 1955, Serial No. 541,120 3 Claims. (CI. 45-80) The present invention relates to a bookholder for supporting a book in a position for reading.

The primary object of the present invention is to pro- Vide a bookholder which may be used in pairs to hold a book open in reading position and having means thereon for holding the pages of the book against movement which would interfere with reading the book.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a bookholder of simple design, compact in structure, one economical to manufacture and one which is'sturdily constructed and able to hold relatively large books in a position for reading.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be fully apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the annexed drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view in elevation of a pair of bookholders of the present invention shown in a position supporting a book,

Figure 2 is an end view greatly enlarged of one of the bookholders seen in Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the bookholder shown in Figures 1 and 2,

Figure 4 is a rear elevational view of the bookholder, and

Figure 5 is a vertical view in section taken on line 55 of Figure 3.

Referring in greater detail to the drawings in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, the present invention consists in a bookholder comprising a backing plate Ill arranged in an upright position and having a U-shaped member 11 also arranged in an upright position in back of the plate and having its bight 12 parallel to and spaced from the lower end of the plate 10.

The legs 13 and 14 of the U-shaped member 11 lean toward the plate 10 and have their free ends pivotally connected to the plate 10 adjacent the upper end of the latter.

A lip 15 projects forwardly from the front face of the backing plate 10 at the lower end thereof and provides a foot for the bookholder of the present invention when the U-shaped member and the backing plate 10 are arranged in the position shown in Figure 2 and supported upon a surface.

A page holder 16 is connected to the backing plate 10 and consists in an intermediate portion 17 extending along and overlying the front face of the backing plate 10 and having an upright xtcnsion 18 at one end projcting perpendicularly from the intermediate portion and extending along an adjacent side edge of the backing plate 10, there being provided at the other end of the intermediate portion 17 another extension 19 also extending perpendicularly and positioned rearwardly of the backing plate 10 adjacent the other side edge.

A braclcet 20 is secured to the back face of the backing plate 10 and provides a support for the page holder,

Patented Jan. 15, 1957 the one extension 19 being journalled in the legs 21 and 22 of the bracket, there being suitable holes provided for the extension 19. A coil spring 23 surrounds the extension 19 and has one end connected to the extension 19 and the other end connected to the bracket 20. The spring 23 provides a means for urging the page holder 16 toward its position overlying the front face of the backing plate 10 so that the page of a book supported upon the bookholder of the present invention may be held flat and in a position for reading.

A tongue 24 having an outwardly turned free end 25 is formed integrally with the backing plate 10 and projects from the front face thereof, there being provided cut lines on two sides and the top permitting the central portion of the backing plate to be bent forwardly of the front face thereof.

As shown in Figure 1, the bookholder of the present invention is intended to be used in pairs with the one bookholder having a backing plate 10 and a page holder 16 having its one extension 18 disposed on the left side of the backing plate and the other bookholder having a backing plate 10 and a page holder 16 having its one extension 18' disposed on the right-hand side of the backing plate It).

In use, the backing plate overlies the outside of the cover of a book with the tongue 24 inserted between the cover and the adjacent pages and the extension 18 is used to hold the pages of the book without interfering with the reading of the book.

What is claimed is:

1. In a bookholder, a backing plate arranged in an upright position, a U-shaped member arranged in an upright position disposed in back of said plate so that its bight is parallel to and spaced from the lower end of said plate with its legs leaning toward said plate, the free ends of its legs being connected to said plate to thereby permit said U-shaped -member to be moved to a position lying against said plate, a lip projecting from the front face of said plate at the lower end thereof, a page holder having an intermediate portion extending along and overlying the front face of said plate adjacent said lip, and an extension projecting perpendicularly from each of the ends of said inter-mediate portion, one of the extensions extending along the adjacent side edge of said plate and the other extension being rearwardly of said plate adjacent the other side edge of said plate, the other extension being pivotally connected to said plate.

2. In a bookholder, a backing plate arranged in an upright position, a U-shaped member arranged in an upright position disposed in back of said plate so that its bight is parallel to and spaced from the lower end of said plate with its legs leaning toward said plate, the free ends of its legs being connected to said plate to thereby permit said U-shaped member to be moved to a position lying, against said plate, a lip projecting from the front face of said plate at the lower end thereof, a page holder having an intermediate portion extending along and overlying the front face of said plate adjacent said lip, an extension projecting perpendicularly from each of the ends of said intermediate portion, said extensions being ofiset from said intermediate portion with one of the extensions extending along the adjacent side edges of said plate and the other extension being rearwardly of said plate adjacent the other side edge of said plate, the other extension being pivotally connected to said plate, and spring means carried on the other extension biasing said page holder to the position in which its intermediate portion overlies the front face of said plate.

3. A bookholder comprising a backing plate arranged in an upright position, a U-shaped member arranged in an upright position disposed in back of said plate so that its bight is parallel to and spaced fromthe lower end of said plate with'its legs leaning toward said plate, the free ends of its legs being connected to said plate to therebypermitsaid -U:shap,ed .rnemberto be moved to a position lying against-said .plate, ,a lip projecting from thefront face ,of said plate at the lower end thereof, a page holder havingan intermediate portionextending along and overlying the.front face .of saidplateadjacent vsaid lip, an extension projecting perpendicularly fromleach of the ends of said intermediateportion, said extension being offset from said intermediate portion with one of the extensions extendingalong the adjacent side edge of said plate and the other extension being rearward- 1y .of said plate adjacent the othertsideledge of said plate, a bracket fixedly secured to theback taceofsaid plate exteriorly of said ,Urshaped member adjacent one o'flhe flegs thereof, the otherextensionbeing journalled intsaid bracket, aspring carried on saidother extension for urging said page holder to the position in which its intermediate portion overlies the front face of said plate, said spring being friotionally engageable with said one leg so as to releasably hold said U-shaped member in the position with its bight lying against said plate, and means on the front face of said plate for grippingly engaging the cover of athook.

References Citedtin the filetof this patent UNITED STATES, -PATENTS 1,002,147 Harris Aug. 29, 1911 1,197,233 'Plamondonqet a1. Sept. 5, 1916 1,228,595 Plarnondon June 5, 1917 1,923,351 Woodley Aug. 22, 1933 2,173,379 Smith Sept. 19, 1939 2,501,019 Attick Mar. 21, 1950 2,576,993 Bergerin Dec. 4, 1951 

